Jay Cooke

have you tried emailing the EORI team directly with a brief summary of what you want to do (you want to link your old EORI to your new/current VAT number) ISBC.eoricontact@hmrc.gov.uk You can only reclaim pre-registration VAT if you still had on hand/in stock, the items you are trying to reclaim VAT on. This is no different to if you bought some bricks and glass before registration and you have since used those bricks and glass to build a house or office, when you then come to register for VAT, do you have these items still in stock/on hand? No you do not, you've used them on a job, so you cannot reclaim the VAT on these purchases, the same logic applies for imported goods. If you do still have the items on hand/in stock at time of registration, for example, you may have bought a van or imported a machine which you are still using today, in that scenario then yes you can reclaim the VAT/import VAT. You should also consider registering for CDS and postponed import VAT https://www.gov.uk/guidance/get-your-postponed-import-vat-statement as that way, you do away with having to pay import VAT upfront and then reclaim it later via C79.

The link HMRC sent you is correct. It is not helped by the fact that the guidance doesn't actually make reference to VAT because the advisory fuel rates are used for other taxes (payroll, etc) as well and that yes, it does say company car, however, we also use the same tables for VAT reclaim purposes for personally owned cars (even though it says you can't). It has always been contradictory guidance. If we take the September 2023 rates for diesel and assuming it is a 2litre diesel and claimed 100 business miles :- 1600cc or less 12 pence 1601cc to 2000cc 14 pence Over 2000cc 19 pence The calculation for input tax reclaim is :- 19p (advisory fuel rate for 2lt diesel) x 100 (miles) x 1/6 (VAT inclusive) so £3.16 of VAT can be reclaimed but you must have fuel receipts as proof of purchase from the employee. I am sure HMRC Admin will come along and confirm this for added reassurance.

Have a read of this internal guidance from HMRC https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/vat-registration-manual/vatreg25350 It is not clear from your post, whether the wrong date is as a result of HMRC's error or your own. If HMRC have made the error then it should be fairly simple for HMRC to correct (their error), but if you put the wrong date on the application form then that is your error and you need to convince HMRC to fix your error. If you made an error on the application, HMRC have some discretion to allow a correction, but you are looking at a technical point of law which does not allow a business to change their EDR once it has been set. Emotion will not work here, facts matter most. As a VAT professional, I can assure you that I regularly see businesses seeking a historical VAT registration date, there are many reasons (sometimes because there is a monetary advantage and sometime because they failed to register for VAT at the right time). I appreciate the people you have spoken to have said "it is clearly a mistake", but I challenge that and so is it a mistake? It is common for a newly incorporated business to seek a VAT registration in line with their incorporation date. It is also common for a new company to wait awhile to see levels of trade before deciding to register for VAT and at that future point, the business can choose to backdate the registration to their incorporation date or register from a current/later date. All depends on the type of business, type of customer, values involved, etc. My point being, HMRC have to spot the difference between a genuine error or a business trying to back out of their original application once the applicant has realised it will cost them money. You'll need to be patient and keep calling and writing to HMRC. Ask HMRC for a review of their decision and provide some additional information to clearly demonstrate how you made the error, use the link above as a guide to help formulate your response, I'd not bother mentioning things like "an EDR set to a date so long ago must be a mistake" as that statement is subjective/opinion. Find reasons why you made the error, was the form not clear, is English not your native language, did you mean April 2023 instead of Aril 2022, were you poorly advised by an Accountant, etc.

To be clear, because the entity making the sales is Hong Kong based, it is not a UK established company, therefore the VAT registration threshold is Nil, so any sales of any value would trigger UK VAT registration. If it were a UK entity/UK limited company, then the VAT threshold would be £85,000.

Hi HMRC Admin This issue has been ongoing for 3 months at least now, it cannot be that difficult for a database to talk to another database. It used to work before you switched platforms, the issue is preventing legitimate taxpayers from trading, if you can escalate this with your outsourced IT folks as a matter of urgency as taxpayers can't trade via online marketplaces without a valid VAT number. HMRC must be missing out on hundreds of thousands of pounds of revenue due to these delays.....one for the Public Accounts Committee perhaps?

There is no such thing as a "VAT exemption certificate". Who is advising you on this? If you mean a zero rating certificate for certain medical equipment, these are supplied by the customer when the conditions for zero rating are met, the main conditions are that the customer is a charitable entity using donated funds to purchase the medical equipment https://www.gov.uk/guidance/charity-funded-equipment-for-medical-and-veterinary-uses-notice-7016#zero-rating-goods-and-services-bought-with-charitable-or-donated-funds

It's not "VAT exempt", the supplies you describe are outside the scope of VAT. It matters because outside the scope of VAT means you can register for VAT optionally, whereas if your supplies are truly "exempt", then you have no right to register for VAT or reclaim input tax. The place of supply of services is primarily determined by where the contractual client is, in your post that seems to be Company B....or in other words, who is your client billing? You should also look at HMRC Notice 741A (Place of supply of services) and look at section 13 https://www.gov.uk/guidance/vat-place-of-supply-of-services-notice-741a#sec13 which covers "use and enjoyment rules", which in brief, if your client is supplying certain electronic services to a USA client but the services your client supplies are enjoyed in the UK (by Company C), then even though the place of supply indicates the customer is USA/outside the scope of VAT, the use and enjoyment rules shifts the liability back to the UK. Some useful examples within the HMRC internal manuals here https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/vat-place-of-supply-services/vatposs15000

The zero rating applies only to the supply AND installation of energy saving materials such as PV/batteries. The contractor will buy materials from wholesaler, those materials will be plus 20% VAT as it's just materials. The contractor then installs those materials to your property - the act of installing those materials should see the whole supply (materials + labour) being zero rated. the contractor can reclaim the VAT they incur when they buy the materials. If your quote is including VAT at 20% then you should challenge the contractor and ask why they have not zero rated their quote. Note, the install of PV/batteries is zero rated, not "exempt", in your post you refer to VAT exempt status, there is no exemption from VAT, VAT is charged but at 0% so when speaking with contractor use the correct language so that there is no ambiguity with them. If you buy materials yourself from a wholesaler, they will be plus 20% VAT.

HMRC always verify the first VAT return of any newly VAT registered business. It has often been the situation that HMRC can take up to 30 days before making contact with the taxpayer, although HMRC usually make contact within 14 days but can take a little longer, especially around the summer holiday season. Your only realistic option is to just wait for the email or call from HMRC. In the meantime, HMRC will want to see copies of 5 or 6 of your highest VAT valued purchases, and also the same for sales. HMRC often ask for bank statements covering the VAT return period, so if you get all of these ready and waiting, when HMRC ask for these, you can reply straight away.

Follow this link https://www.gov.uk/vat-repayments Scroll down page to :- For HMRC to make a payment into your overseas bank account, it must be: in the name of the company owed a repayment associated with a named business owner or an authorised person with a Government Gateway ID able to accept repayments in pounds sterling You must "fill in a form to give details of your overseas bank account before HMRC can transfer any VAT repayments". All VAT repayments will then be sent to this bank account. Click the link "fill in a form to give details of your overseas bank account before..." You will go to your gateway login page, log in and you will be asked a series of questions about the business (address, VAT registration date, VAT number, etc) and then HMRC will process your request in 2-3 days. You cannot access this bank page by going to your normal gateway login, you have to visit the https://www.gov.uk/vat-repayments first and then click the link on this webpage to get to your gateway.